Initial planning steps toward replacement of the 105-year-old tunnels under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York's Penn Station are underway, with New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, and the Port Authority of N.Y & N.J. all playing key roles.
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx "said that New Jersey Transit had agreed to lead the project’s environmental study and that Amtrak would oversee engineering," writes
and the state’s two Democratic senators, Cory A. Booker and Robert Menendez," writes Fitzsimmons. "The four released a joint statement calling the meeting 'substantive and productive,' and indicated that they would work to obtain 'a substantial federal grant contribution' and other funding options for the plan, known as the Gateway Project (tag Amtrak Gateway).
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, proposed creating a nonprofit development corporation to oversee the project. But the governors suggested the Port Authority should take the lead, with a dedicated entity and staff in the agency.
Fitzsimmons poses several fundamental questions which could possibly doom building the critical tunnels, considered "America's most important rail project."
How would the states pay for their share when leaders are already struggling to fund existing infrastructure plans? Could Congress, already wracked by leadership questions, be persuaded to provide significant federal funding? And would the Port Authority, shadowed by scandal and a continuing federal investigation, be the best agency to oversee one of the biggest construction projects in the country?
FULL STORY: Early Planning for New Hudson Rail Tunnel Is Underway, U.S. Transportation Secretary Says

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